Sodom
/ˈsɒdəm/
proper noun
Origin
Hebrew
סדם (sdm) — perhaps 'burning' or 'enclosure'
Overview
Meaning Now
- A legendary city in the Bible destroyed by God for its wickedness and lack of righteous inhabitants.
- A term used to denote a place of vice, debauchery, or corruption.
Language path
Hebrew → Ancient Greek → Latin → Old English → English
Earliest form
סְדוֹם (Sdom)
Earliest period
8th century BCE (original text)
Journey
Sodom is paired with the city of Gomorrah in the Book of Genesis. The narrative describes their destruction by fire and brimstone. In Western history, the term has evolved to represent moral depravity, and it served as the linguistic root for historically contentious legal terminology.
Evolution
- Iron Age Hebrew
סְדוֹם
“Sodom”
Original biblical form.
- Koine Greek
Σόδομα (Sodoma)
“Sodom”
Transliteration into Septuagint.
- Late Latin
Sodoma
“Sodom”
- Old English
Sodoma
“Sodom”
- Middle English
Sodome
“Sodom”
- Modern English
Sodom
“Sodom”
Connections
Related across languages
French
Sodome
Sodom
German
Sodom
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Related to Sodom
External references use DefinedTerm semantics.